Despite a recent national survey showing a slight increase in first-time international graduate enrollment across the country, Penn State's numbers have suffered, according to Graduate School administrators.

The Council of Graduate Schools recently reported that first-time enrollment for international graduate students in the United States is up one percent for the fall of 2005, after recent years of decline.

Mark Wardell, interim assistant dean of Penn State's graduate school, said Penn State participated in the survey.

"Our number is not up this year," he said. "I think our first-time enrollment is down by two percent ... and our total enrollment of international graduate students is down four percent."

Wardell said that this fall the total enrollment of international graduate students is 2,395. He added that total enrollment numbers for graduate schools have been down across the country, and it should not be a surprise to anyone who looks at the data that the numbers are down.

"Probably one of the biggest reason Penn State's numbers are down is because of the competition from of international graduate schools in foreign countries like Australia and the European Union," he said. "Also places like India and China, which traditionally send the most students to Penn State, are graduating more Ph.D. students in their own countries."

Stuart Heiser, manager of government relations and public affairs for the Council of Graduate Schools, said the survey is a complex process examined three times a year to ensure the most recent data possible.

"In March we get information on applications," Heiser said. "Last month we released information on admissions from this past spring. Last week we reported on enrollment for this fall which showed international graduate enrollment was up one percent nationally."

Heiser said that until this year, national numbers for international graduate students have been down since 2002, when new visa policies came into effect following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Masume Assaf, associate director of the Office of International Programs, said there might be several factors contributing to the recent decline in international graduate students. "I think there's competition now and students have other choices," she said. "I think cost has an effect on that. I think there's leftover feeling from 9/11. There's this idea that the U.S doesn't welcome them, but that's slowly changing."

Wardell said the decrease has been a trend for some time and Penn State experienced it later than most colleges.

"I've talked to international students who said the visa process is really complicated right now," he said. "The state's working on that, and hopefully it will be easier for international students in the future."

Heiser said that traditionally China and India send the most students to the United States to study in graduate programs. He added that international students play a large role in research and teaching at institutions.

"There's been a great impact on engineering because in some cases international students make up fifty percent of the class," he said. "American graduate education has traditionally been the best in the world. For decades we've attracted best and brightest worldwide."